Home UK English yellow boy

Meaning of yellow boy in English:

yellow boy

noun

slang, archaic, historical

  • A gold coin, especially a guinea or a sovereign.

Pronunciation

yellow boy

/ˈjɛləʊ bɔɪ/ /ˌjɛləʊ ˈbɔɪ/

Origin

Mid 17th century; earliest use found in Edmund Gayton (1608–1666), physician and hack writer. From yellow + boy, with allusion to the coin's colour.